West Ham striker Carlton Cole has told the East London Advertiser that he will not be entering any discussions about a new contract until Premier League survival is secured.
The big striker has been linked with a move away from the club, with Premier League strugglers Reading and Championship promotion hopefuls Crystal Palace both credited with an interest in the 29 year old. But Cole has said that his priority is securing survival for the Hammers and he will not be even thinking about contracts till the end of the season.
"I have said that I am not available to talk about contracts- right now, we are just trying to secure our place in the league and then we can talk."
The long serving number nine also denied that his future is any sense linked to the future of teammate Andy Carroll, who will return to parent club Liverpool at the end of the season but has been linked with a permanent move to Upton Park.
"Do you know what, not playing is just the way football is," says Cole, whose start at Anfield on Sunday was his first since January 23.
"I am a proper pro and my future is not dependent on what Andy Carroll decides to do. We think our safety in the Premier League is nearly secure and then we'll start talking (about a new deal) but that is not what I'm focussing on at the moment."
These quotes from Cole are certainly interesting and pose some interesting questions.. the word last week was that he and his advisers were already in negotiations with the club over a new deal but that the two parties were some way apart in terms of the striker's proposed wages, has that now broken down? Or was it never the case that negotiations had begun? Certainly an interesting one to watch, the big man was described by the Advertiser's West Ham correspondent Dave Evans as "holding his cards close to his chest," an unusual feeling to get from the ever-open Cole.
By Alex Shilling, News Editor
@alexshilling
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